Eat, play, eat some more: Tasting Montreal

Karen Hawthorne, National Post05.12.2010

Chef Jonathan Garnier spins some pepper for sauteed mushrooms during a cooking class at La Guilde Culinaire. He likes his polenta crunchy, just 10 minutes in, compared to the usual 40, and whips his with cream and parmesan.

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Let’s be honest. Gorgeous scenery and architecture is great, sure, but the best vacation memories usually have something to do with food. Why? Food takes us away from our routine and the whole “what are we going to have for dinner?" question that crops up even with the most careful household planners. The tasting and eating indulges most of our senses, and gives us insight into local habits and culture.

Montreal is a foodie town, and a great weekend destination with its outdoor markets, restaurants, patisseries and fine food shops. But, it may be hard to choose just where to go, so here are a few tips from one merry eater to another.

First, take off that workaholic uniform and put on something fashion-friendly and comfortable (Montrealers are so put together), something that won’t wrinkle and require ironing, and gives you ample room for a bit of waistline expansion. Getaways shouldn’t be restricted by unforgiving calorie counting or tight pencil skirts. Ladies, a sexy pair of heels, on the other hand, should always be in your carryall.

Want to add to the relaxation? Consider leaving the car and road stress behind, and take the VIA train. You can stretch your legs and just gaze out the large windows. If you can’t resist, you can also plug in your laptop and stay on top of the emails before you arrive.

Train travel, along with business class cocktails, is an excellent way to channel your carefree holiday mode. Montreal has a convenient subway system to get around and, essentially, you can walk many routes. Along with those heels, pack some supportive sandals.

Stay in the heart of the city and treat yourself to a beautiful boutique hotel, such as the Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile at Sherbrooke and Stanley streets, where two crosswalks will get you to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Holts and Quebec fashion designers, Nadya Toto and Marie Saint Pierre. The use of floor-to-ceiling glass in this modern hotel is impressive, flooding the front lobby and restaurant with natural light and mood-lifting vitamin D. “The hotel owner, an art collector, came in one day [during construction] carrying an original Renoir that he planned to hang in the restaurant. We were a little nervous about keeping it there and suggested a reproduction instead,” marketing director Ivan Lebrun says. The restaurant, aptly, is called Restaurant Renoir.

Once in the rooms, you’ll completely zen out when you try the beds – soft, yet firm, with a feathered and trademarked system. Even a cafe au lait in the lounge here is chic, served with a side of chocolate nut brittle and fresh berries.

But why just taste Montreal, when you can cook in the city? As food tourism grows, so has the number of urban culinary schools. At La Guilde Culinaire, on the up-and-coming St-Laurent strip south of the landmark Jean-Talon market, Chef Jonathan Garnier teaches while he entertains in a hands-on class. This Montrealer brings his Cote d’Azur training to the kitchen with a Quebec sensibility.

On the menu? He never makes the same dish twice but, for the moment, pork tenderloin with onions, blueberries and maple syrup, a mushroom sauté with parsley, and firm polenta with cream and parmesan. The finishing dolci was a simple dish of fresh strawberries with amaretto whipped cream, “just a teardrop of amaretto,” Chef Garnier says with a long pour from the bottle. He’s easygoing, not an intense, barking commander, and patiently shares his techniques to peel the outer skin off mushrooms or slice an onion with your first two fingers resting against the knife blade.

La Guilde can host classes of two or 20 and up. “In Quebec-style, they always want to have a kitchen party. Someone says, OK, I’m going to cook the meat, someone else, I’ll chop that, so I organize the session, we make three courses and it’s a great party."

His focus is not fancy sauces or foams, but recipes people can easily do at home, with variations to suit their tastes. His own home cooking is often the simplest of all:

"Butter and spaghetti -- fresh pasta, a nice spoon of good butter and some parmesan cheese, it's perfect."

When you work up your appetite again, head to Magnan Restaurant et Taverne for the famous roast beef dinner, courtesy of a secret recipe by the family matriarch Marie-Ange Magnan. She and her husband Armand opened the business in 1932. It's a little out of the way, on St-Patrick near the Atwater Market in a former industrial area, but that just adds to the find. Locals know it well and crowd the main floor tavern to watch hockey on the big-screen TVs, while slightly more subdued patrons dine in the lower-floor restaurant on the oh-so tender roast beef and trimmings.

Save room for a traditional French cheese plate for dessert, accompanied by wine, of course. The newly opened rich and rustic La Montee de Lait, on St-Laurent, has a thoughtful wine-by-the-glass selection and knowledgeable servers, along with a knockout cheese board served with nuts and a streak of orange cream sauce. Remember to look up at the ceiling if you use the bathroom.

Yes, there are bagels and smoked meat sandwiches aplenty, so include those where possible, but the final sweet finish must be pastry chef Thierry Andrieu's Point G confectionary boutique on trendy Mont-Royal Est. "Point G means g-spot," Chef Andrieu explains with a grin, his neon pink hair spike standing at attention. The Parisian macarons are crisp and then all melting sugar as you bite into flavours of salted caramel, cassis and balsamic vinegar, mon Dieu!

He'll be adding a top secret gelatto flavour for his friend and space tourist, Guy Laliberté, to celebrate his new Cirque du Soleil show in the city.

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